1. Field of Invention
The invention is directed to water and/or heat degradable containers for storage of waste material, particularly organic waste, while retarding oxidation and microbial activity, and methods of recycling the waste material into useable substances, such as animal feed.
2. Description of Related Art
Many large institutions, as well as individuals, produce waste that can be recycled into usable products. Methods currently exist for recycling plastics, glass and paper waste material. However, few worthwhile methods of recycling organic waste on a large scale, other than composting, currently exist. Ideally, organic waste materials, comprising mostly foodstuffs, could be recycled into animal feed using water or heat degradable containers for transportation and storage.
Water or heat degradable containers for use in composting or handling of hazardous waste materials are known. In these cases, the container is meant to degrade upon timed exposure to one or more of light, air, water and heat, or to break open, melt or dissolve upon contact with water, exposure to heat, or a combination thereof.
For example, in the medical industry, it is vital that clothing and bedding contaminated with bodily fluids or excrement be collected and washed without further spreading any bacteria, protozoa or viruses. Therefore, bags that have a hot or cold water-soluble seam, and that additionally may themselves be hot water soluble, are used to contain soiled or contaminated materials. The bags are placed directly in a washing machine where the first rush of water begins dissolving the seam, thereby opening the bag to clean the materials. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,632,039, 3,279,511 and 3,209,977. Additionally, the caustic materials used to clean the laundry may be sealed in a water soluble container, or a container with a water soluble seam, as demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,869. In this manner, the user need not handle the caustic chemicals.
Another means of handling medical waste is to place it in a fully degradable container, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,231. The container is filled with hazardous waste, saturated by steam, irradiated and autoclaved. The resulting material is dried, granulated and disposed of by dumping.
Fully degradable materials for use in composting are also known. A bio-degradable fabric net for leaf storage and decomposition is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,423. A bag that degrades on exposure to oxygen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,933. This bag contains antioxidants as stabilizers, but the antioxidants are volatile at decomposition temperatures. Further, traditional composting devices, such as those that allow moisture and air to enter from the bottom, and light to enter from the top, are also known. Generally, these containers are made of solid materials, such as metal, plastic and fiberglass. U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,561.
A water degradable garbage bag is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,454 for use in landfills or sea disposal of waste. This bag may include a disinfectant or bactericide to prevent further bacterial action, or digesting bacteria to aid in environmentally friendly decomposition.
In addition, packaging materials can be made of water soluble resins to reduce environmental waste, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,908. Natural by-products of agriculture can be formed into nitrogenous capsules for use as fertilizers or other soil improving agents, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,997,469 and 5,198,252. Alternatively, bio-degradable sheet seed structures can be formed for use in hydroponics, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,401.
Plant waste can also be made into animal fodder. For producing animal fodder, the waste material is mixed with cellulosic materials and materials that precipitate biological degradation, such as certain enzymes and nonpathogenic bacteria. U.S Pat. No. 5,198,252. The waste material may be collected in a perforated container that is subjected to steam sterilization before treatment with a microorganism to form an ethanol mash that is made into feed supplements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,830.
All of the above methods either facilitate recycling of waste, or ease handling of hazardous materials. However, these methods of waste disposal generally are slow (composting), costly and/or do not eradicate the problems of landfill or removal to barges for disposal at sea. Further, in this instance, incineration is not cost effective. The resulting ash from incineration has limited applications and must still be removed because ash is not biodegradable.
The object of this invention is to create an easy and efficient means of recycling organic waste into useful animal feed. In particular, no special care of the waste should be required by the waste generator.